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Athlete manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an athlete manager. Athlete managers usually study kinesiology, business, or communication. 71% of athlete managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 10% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 254 real athlete manager resumes to see exactly what athlete manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for athlete managers are the Appalachian State University and the Appalachian State University.

There are also many online athlete manager courses to help get the education required to be an athlete manager.

What education do you need to become an athlete manager?

What degree do you need to be an athlete manager?

The most common degree for athlete managers is bachelor's degree, with 71% of athlete managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 10% and master's degree degree at 9%.
  • Bachelor's, 71%
  • Master's, 10%
  • Associate, 9%
  • High School Diploma, 7%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become an athlete manager?

You should major in kinesiology to become an athlete manager. 20% of athlete managers major in kinesiology. Other common majors for an athlete manager include business and communication.

Most common colleges for athlete managers

Athlete managers often get their degrees at Appalachian State University, Texas Tech University, and University of Louisville. Here are the most common colleges for athlete managers in the US based on their resumes.
Athlete manager common collegePercentages
Appalachian State University6.90%
Texas Tech University6.90%
University of Louisville6.90%
Pennsylvania State University6.90%
Texas Christian University6.90%

Best majors for athlete managers

RankMajorPercentages
1Kinesiology19.5%
2Business15.6%
3Communication9.4%
4Marketing5.5%
5Biology5.5%

Best colleges for athlete managers

The best colleges for athlete managers are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and University of Pennsylvania.

An athlete manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for athlete managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become athlete managers.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

7. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-state tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

10. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

20 best online courses for athlete managers

Advertising disclosure

1. Sports Turf Management: Best Practices

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The Sports Turf Management: Best Practices course will cover the construction, management, and challenges in maintaining athletic fields intended for football, soccer, and baseball. You will learn the fundamental management practices for maintaining athletic fields, such as fertilization, irrigation, mowing, and pest control. An overview of athletic field construction, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of native soil versus modified soil fields, will be provided. Lastly, you will...

2. The Science of Training Young Athletes

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Seventy percent of kids drop out of sports before their high school graduation. Only 15% leave because they feel they are not good enough. Almost 70% leave because they were not having fun, or due to problems with the coach. Injuries cause 30% to give up sports. This course is packed full of practical sports science information that provide youth coaches and parents with the practical pediatric sports science insights to successfully retain young athletes and develop their sport potential while...

3. Sport Psychology for Athletes

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4.7
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Master the fundamentals of sport psychology to improve performance and gain a mental edge...

4. Sports Nutrition for Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

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4.5
(353)

Learn all about sports nutrition with 7 hours of online video content and start training SMARTER instead of HARDER...

5. Data Analytics in Sports Law and Management

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Athletes, lawyers and team executive experts provide insight in how law and regulations intersect with data analytics and sports management techniques for best practices in the sports industry. Several courses provide the basis for how data analytics function within player evaluation, team performance, and roster management. The specialization introduces various regulatory, managerial and legal frameworks that includes athlete representation, facilities, and event management and conclude with...

6. Introduction to Machine Learning in Sports Analytics

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In this course students will explore supervised machine learning techniques using the python scikit learn (sklearn) toolkit and real-world athletic data to understand both machine learning algorithms and how to predict athletic outcomes. Building on the previous courses in the specialization, students will apply methods such as support vector machines (SVM), decision trees, random forest, linear and logistic regression, and ensembles of learners to examine data from professional sports leagues...

7. Internationally Accredited Diploma in Sports Nutrition

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4.5
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Learn About The Fundamentals Of Sport Nutrition Science And How To Fuel Your Athlete Client...

8. Applied Sport Psychology and Leadership in Sport Certificate

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4.4
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Enhance your knowledge of sport psychology from an athlete or coach perspective with this comprehensive applied course...

9. Activism in Sports and Culture

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Sports have become an ever-present reflection of American culture, and an important symbol of the divisions and alliances in our society. Sports and political change walk hand in hand in America. The way that athletes and institutions deal with questions of race, economic hardship, nationalism, and political ties have become central to the way that we understand ourselves and our society. And yet, there are those who would prefer their sports free of controversy and opinion. Dedicated athletes,...

10. Sales Operations/Management

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Sales jobs span nearly every industry, from agribusiness and pharmaceuticals, to telecommunications and property management. And essential to sales is the management of the sales force. This course provides the knowledge and know how required for careers in sales management. Students are exposed to all facets of sales management, including organizing, selecting, training, motivating, supervising and compensating the sales force, territory management and administration and sales and expense...

11. Financial Accounting-Inventory & Merchandising Transactions

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4.8
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Mastering Inventory Accounting: From Merchandising Transactions to Cost Flow Assumptions...

12. Operations Management: Inventory Management

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4
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Operations Management Training Program (Course 4 of 8)...

13. Sports Performance Analytics

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Sports analytics has emerged as a field of research with increasing popularity propelled, in part, by the real-world success illustrated by the best-selling book and motion picture, Moneyball. Analysis of team and player performance data has continued to revolutionize the sports industry on the field, court, and ice as well as in living rooms among fantasy sports players and online sports gambling.\n\nDrawing from real data sets in Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball...

14. Inventory Management A-Z: Supply Chain & Business Operations

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Inventory Management Basics: MBA beginners course to your optimize your Purchasing, Logistics, EOQ and Safety Stock...

15. Management - Leadership, Negotiating, Assertiveness, Sales

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A practical guide covering assertiveness, time management, leadership, negotiating, sales & project management...

16. Supply Chain Management: Inventory Management and Control

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Inventory Management in Supply Chain Management & Inventory Control in Warehouse Logistics & Supply chain Management...

17. Sports Management: The Essentials Course

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A Comprehensive Overview at How the Sports Industry Operates and the Challenges Facing the Modern Sports Industry Today...

18. Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics

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Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...

19. Payroll Management

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Use free UK payroll software to perform essential payroll management...

20. Inventory Management in Manufacturing

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4.6
(417)

Complete course on Inventory Management...

Top 10 most affordable universities for athlete managers

The most affordable schools for athlete managers are California State University - Bakersfield, baruch college of the city university of new york, and suny farmingdale.

If the best universities for athlete managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for athlete managers.

1. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

2. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

3. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

4. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

5. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

6. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

7. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

8. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

9. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for athlete managers

The hardest universities for athlete managers to get into are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for athlete managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for athlete managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

6. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

7. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

26%

SAT average

1,427

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

9. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

10. Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

51%

SAT average

1,395

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for athlete managers

The easiest schools for athlete managers to get into are Wayland Baptist University, barry university, and felician university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an athlete manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for athlete managers.

1. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

3. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

4. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

5. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

6. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

7. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

8. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

9. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

10. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

Average athlete manager salary by education level

Athlete managers with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $47,972 annually. With a Master's degree, athlete managers earn a median annual income of $47,647 compared to $41,466 for athlete managers with an Associate degree.
Athlete manager education levelAthlete manager salary
Master's Degree$47,647
High School Diploma or Less$39,143
Bachelor's Degree$47,972
Some College/ Associate Degree$41,466

Athlete manager education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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